Friday, June 05, 2009

...and then a Kofta Pulao

The Kofta Pulao is here as promised. Though to make this I use a layering technique like Biryani, I still insist on calling this a pulao forOne, It is not as spicy as a BiryaniTwo, Kofta Pulao has a nice ring to it

Now the pics here don't do justice to the actual Pulao for see I couldn't have clicked the pictures with friends around, they would have thought me crazy. With the leftover Kofta curry I had made a small quantity of pulao for just us and took some hurried pics before I would see the end of it.

When Kalai left a comment on my last post I could very well identify her. Far away from home and family, the friends in this adopted country are our extended family now. Their kids are my daughter's cousins and they play a big role in shaping her life. The girl in white on the beach is the elder sis that S can look up to. I have seen her grow from a toddler to an almost teen and she is the perfect role model any 5 year old should have.

I am thankful for these friends and their kids and hope S and A bring as much happiness to this extended family as they do to ours.

To make the Kofta Pulao we are going to use the same gravy that we made for Kofta curry in the previous post. However if your aim is to make the Pulao, reduce the gravy till it is thick and of a consistency which is enough for coating or spreading like a paste but does not flow. Usually I will use part of the above prepared gravy for the pulao while the rest will be served up as a Kofta Curry

Keep the thick gravy and the chicken masala balls in separate containers

Wash and soak 2 and 1/2 cups of Basmati rice for half an hour

Heat Oil + 1/2 tsp of Ghee in the Kadhai/Wok/Frying Pan.

Season the oil with 4 Green Cardamom/Elaichi, 4 Clove/Laung, a 1" stick of Cinnamon/darchini and 2 small bay leaves/tej patta

Add 1/3 cup of finely sliced onions. With a sprinkle of sugar fry the onions till it is a light pinkish brown

Drain the rice and add it to above. Do not add water at this point.

Add a little turmeric for color and fry the rice till you get a very nice smell

Add 4-4&1/2 cups of water for 2 and 1/2 cup of rice. This will also depend on the brand of rice you are using, remember to go with 1 cup less water than usual. Add little salt, few drops of kewra water(optional) and cover and cook. Note: Start with little salt as the pulao will get some salt from the Kofta gravy too. You can always adjust later

Once the rice is nearly done take it off the flame. With this water ratio, the water will dry up and yet the rice will not be fully cooked, it will be done almost 95% but 5% wil remain. Fluff the rice with a fork

Now in a flat bottomed deep oven safe bowl--- spread the kofta gravy at the bottom layer with some finely chopped corriander.--- add a layer of the rice.--- top the rice with a layer of the gravy, 5-6 koftas/chicken balls, some golden raisins, chopped corriander leaves, 1/4 tsp of Biryani masala sprinkled over.--- now again add a layer of rice.--- finally top it off again as before.

Note: While spreading the gravy masala do not over do it, you want a pulao and not rice mixed with curry. All of the gravy that you made might not be used up for the pulao. If you do not have homemade Biryani Masala use your favorite brand

Finally cover tightly with aluminium foil and put in the oven. In my countertop oven the heat setting is at 350 F and time taken is 20 minutes

Once it is done, check for seasoning/salt and adjust. We like a little sweetness in our pulao and so I add very little sugar too. Mix everthing nicely and gently taking care that the balls do not break and yet the spices spread out evenly

Serve with some of the Kofta Curry and a Raita. It is delicious to say the least.

hey sandeepa,It's a great looking stuff :)name it biryani or pulao I would love this with a bowl of raita...;)Beautiful looking bead rimmed plate, colour combi is great looks very Indian :)Enjoy the weekend TC

Sandeepa, it's so true that we sort of wind up with adopted family, right? Growing up, I had so many younger brothers and sisters that I never felt lonely. Glad to hear that there's such a good role model around! Pulao looks amazing! You are totally making me hungry! :)

You are true about friends. Even living in India for my family (before marriage) we usd to shift to places once in 3 years. And all we have there in the new place are the friends and neighbours and do u know the most no. of people we invited for my marriage were friends than the relatives :) The biriyani makes me crave more as this summer is in peaks we are avoiding to cook non-veg.

Sandeepa, I must really thank you for the post. And even before I read it. there was an extract on Google Reader including the phrase 'layering technique of biryani'. This stuck in my sub conscious i guess.

We had some friends over for an impromptu meet after work. I decided to make kosha chicken and paneer and rice. The face of one of my friends fell when he heard this as he thought there would be biriyani and not rice.

So I quickly popped in some frozen peas to the rice. Heated garam masala and ghee and then kept inserting it in pockets into the rice after the rice was ready. The boiled a bit of zafran in milk and repeated the processes.

The result was quite a nice peas biryani rice. I was quite happy with it.

I use little inspirations, like the phrase of yours in this case, to cook up stuff. Detailed recipes turn me off. But I love reading the intros to your posts.

I still don't know the difference between Pulao and Biryani... But I agree with you kofta pulao sounds so much better! I didn't realize these were made of chicken, great idea to make a pulao out of it! Looks yum!

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Predominantly a Bong, who loves being a Mom and loves to cook among other things for the li'l one and the big ones.She loves to write too and you will find her food spiced up with stories. Mainly a collection of Bengali Recipes with other kinds thrown in, in good measure. A Snapshot of Bengali Cuisine